Just picked up a 1984 Raleigh Marathon
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Just picked up a 1984 Raleigh Marathon
I need to paint it, as there is some wear and rust. I was wondering what the best method would be, what paints, how to strip it....I would like to do it myself, as it would be quite costly to take it to a shop.
Its a beautiful bike for a tall guy like myself, 27 inch wheels, large frame. I love it so far. Just gotta get it fixed up!
I notice in 12th gear, the chain clicks, would this be fixed by an adjustment?
Thanks guys! I am just getting into cycling and i am pretty excited to get this bike back in shape! I cant believe someone was throwing it out!
Its a beautiful bike for a tall guy like myself, 27 inch wheels, large frame. I love it so far. Just gotta get it fixed up!
I notice in 12th gear, the chain clicks, would this be fixed by an adjustment?
Thanks guys! I am just getting into cycling and i am pretty excited to get this bike back in shape! I cant believe someone was throwing it out!
#2
black betty
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: florida
Posts: 228
Bikes: custom flatlandbike, trek fuel ex8
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
id get it powdercoated and then clearcoated....
you COULD sand it or strip the paint/prime/ paint it yourself ....BUT you still wont be able to 'cook' the paint.....so nothing you really do will be up to par with something a shop can do.
you COULD sand it or strip the paint/prime/ paint it yourself ....BUT you still wont be able to 'cook' the paint.....so nothing you really do will be up to par with something a shop can do.
#3
otherwiseordinary
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: California
Posts: 697
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
If you are going to paint it yourself you might want to dismantle the bike completely by taking off all the parts including the fork, headset and Bottom Bracket (BB).
I'm not sure how good you are with bikes, but if you just paint on top of the existing stuff then it won't look too sharp. If you do decide to take the bike apart you'll be in for some learning which is in my opinion the best part.
There are many resources online to help you.
Park Tools and Sheldon Brown's websites (google them)
Good Luck.
I'm not sure how good you are with bikes, but if you just paint on top of the existing stuff then it won't look too sharp. If you do decide to take the bike apart you'll be in for some learning which is in my opinion the best part.
There are many resources online to help you.
Park Tools and Sheldon Brown's websites (google them)
Good Luck.
#4
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Thanks! Also- how much could I be looking at ballpark to have a shop do it for me? Any ideas on what the average is?
Thanks guys- appreciate the help!
Thanks guys- appreciate the help!
#5
aka: Mike J.
If you're going to pay a shop to do it then you might be better off to just buy a new bike.
Shop rates are $60/hour or so, some higher, some lower. And if you're going full-boat on the bike then you'll be looking at new bearings or at least a major overhaul and regrease. Might as well throw in a frame corrosion preventative treatment once the bike comes back from the painters.
Getting the paint off the frame is an exercise in labor or money, you can sand or chemical strip it down yourself, or can pay to have it stripped. I don't think you'll find a bike shop that will strip the paint off for you, maybe, but probably not.
Rough guess is that you'll be looking at $300-$700 in parts and labor and paint charges if you have a LBS take care of the whole project for you.
Doing it yourself could be well under $300 and possibly under $100 depending upon how well you prep the frame and how fancy you want to get with the paint work.
I recently came across a Raleigh Marathon https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...390&highlight= and decided it was a rider. I've got new tires on it now, re-wrapped the handlebars, got the shifting lubed up and adjusted, and it's a fairly good rider now. Not worth it to me to go farther with it, plus it's a little on a tall side for my legs, but it fits the stepson well so it will be a loaner for when he comes to visit and if I can get him interested in some longer rides.
Nice bikes, but not in the "collectable" category if I read right from searches on the site here. But if you do want to go full-boat with your's then my suggestion would be to do the work yourself as much as you can. And if you're going to repaint the frame then just use your LBS for the high cost tool items like removing and installing headset bearing cups and maybe the bottom bracket work. You might need a minor refacing on the bottom bracket to clean up extra paint and get a good surface, same on the headset, so taking a bare frame in to have that work done shouldn't be too bad if you go to the shop on a slow day and bring along a 12-pack of soda or something for the service guys.
Also, it might be good to just go talk to the service people, tell them what you want to do, and ask if there's anyone there who could walk you through the process and maybe help with the hard stuff in exchange for a little mentoring fee or a free lunch or three. I don't mean to shortchange the LBS, but sometimes on the "older" bikes a parallel path is sometimes better.
You might also hit some used book stores and find an older bicycle repair book. With a 1984 bike you don't need the most current service books, and you just might need something in that older book that has been dropped in more current books. For current books you might look at Zinn's roadbike repair book and the ParkTool School blue book. There are more expensive current options, but I'd personally use the money saved to buy some tools and a decent repair stand.
Other's might have differing opinions on this, and I don't mean to discourage you, but my strongest recommendation would be to do the work yourself. The knowledge you gain in the process will be worth it. Have patience, take your time, and keep it fun. And post a few pics of the bike if you can.
Shop rates are $60/hour or so, some higher, some lower. And if you're going full-boat on the bike then you'll be looking at new bearings or at least a major overhaul and regrease. Might as well throw in a frame corrosion preventative treatment once the bike comes back from the painters.
Getting the paint off the frame is an exercise in labor or money, you can sand or chemical strip it down yourself, or can pay to have it stripped. I don't think you'll find a bike shop that will strip the paint off for you, maybe, but probably not.
Rough guess is that you'll be looking at $300-$700 in parts and labor and paint charges if you have a LBS take care of the whole project for you.
Doing it yourself could be well under $300 and possibly under $100 depending upon how well you prep the frame and how fancy you want to get with the paint work.
I recently came across a Raleigh Marathon https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...390&highlight= and decided it was a rider. I've got new tires on it now, re-wrapped the handlebars, got the shifting lubed up and adjusted, and it's a fairly good rider now. Not worth it to me to go farther with it, plus it's a little on a tall side for my legs, but it fits the stepson well so it will be a loaner for when he comes to visit and if I can get him interested in some longer rides.
Nice bikes, but not in the "collectable" category if I read right from searches on the site here. But if you do want to go full-boat with your's then my suggestion would be to do the work yourself as much as you can. And if you're going to repaint the frame then just use your LBS for the high cost tool items like removing and installing headset bearing cups and maybe the bottom bracket work. You might need a minor refacing on the bottom bracket to clean up extra paint and get a good surface, same on the headset, so taking a bare frame in to have that work done shouldn't be too bad if you go to the shop on a slow day and bring along a 12-pack of soda or something for the service guys.
Also, it might be good to just go talk to the service people, tell them what you want to do, and ask if there's anyone there who could walk you through the process and maybe help with the hard stuff in exchange for a little mentoring fee or a free lunch or three. I don't mean to shortchange the LBS, but sometimes on the "older" bikes a parallel path is sometimes better.
You might also hit some used book stores and find an older bicycle repair book. With a 1984 bike you don't need the most current service books, and you just might need something in that older book that has been dropped in more current books. For current books you might look at Zinn's roadbike repair book and the ParkTool School blue book. There are more expensive current options, but I'd personally use the money saved to buy some tools and a decent repair stand.
Other's might have differing opinions on this, and I don't mean to discourage you, but my strongest recommendation would be to do the work yourself. The knowledge you gain in the process will be worth it. Have patience, take your time, and keep it fun. And post a few pics of the bike if you can.